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Trial next month for man suspected of taking boy hostage

Trial next month for man suspected of taking boy hostage
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BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio -- A trial is scheduled next month for a Cincinnati man facing multiple charges in connection with a 30-hour standoff in which he allegedly held a 10-year-old hostage.

Donald T. Gazaway, 31, was charged with kidnapping, felonious assault and inducing panic after the incident that started Jan. 12 in the Springs at Liberty Township complex off Hamilton Mason Road.

A Butler County grand jury handed down an indictment with additional charges of aggravated burglary, aggravated robbery and two counts of having weapons under disability.

 

WCPO media partner the Journal-News reports Gazaway was in Butler County Common Pleas Court on Tuesday for a final hearing before his July 7 trial. He is being held on a $1,001,000 bond.

Defense attorney David Albrecht told Judge Charles Pater that at this point there is no reason to set another hearing before the four-day trial.

When taken into custody, three guns were found with Gazaway, Nerlinger testified. Live rounds were also found.

The child was not physically injured, according to the sheriff’s office, though officers said they saw Gazaway use the boy as a shield. That, they said, prevented them from making any movement toward the residence.

During the standoff, the child cried, "Let me go, let me go," Nerlinger testified.